2020 NHL Mock Draft
1st Overall - New York Rangers
Pick: Alexis Lafreniere (LW)
Easy to see this coming. Lafreniere has been pegged as the 1st overall pick for years now, and it would be hard to see the Rangers choosing anyone else, or even trading the pick for that matter.
2nd Overall - Los Angeles Kings
Pick: Quinton Byfield (C)
Many analysts view Byfield as the lesser-skilled player compared to Tim Stutzle, however the size and skill of Byfield puts him ahead of Stutzle for a team like the Los Angeles Kings, especially considering the fact that the West is seen as a much tougher, heavier conference than the east.
3rd Overall -Ottawa Senators (via San Jose)
Pick: Tim Stutzle (C)
Stutzle could be the #1-centre the Senators have been looking. His skill and speed lend himself very well to a young team like the Senators, and he looks to be an excellent partner for Brady Tkachuk.
4th Overall - Detroit Red Wings
Pick: Jamie Drysdale (RD)
Losing out on all three draft lotteries must have really stung for the Wings and their fanbase, however Jamie Drysdale could be a perfect piece for their rebuild. After reaching to pick Moritz Seider, a defenseman that many scouts view as a top-4 potential player, Yzerman still needs to find a true #1 right-shot defender. Drysdale's excellent play on both sides of the puck make him a perfect fit in my opinion.
5th Overall - Ottawa Senators
Pick: Cole Perfetti (C)
Another centre chosen by the Senators here. Perfetti is arguably the best player available at fifth overall, and I would imagine Ottawa chooses a forward over another left-shot defender (considering they already have Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom in their system). Whether Perfetti ends up playing centre or on the wing, he is an incredibly smart player and can form an excellent 1-2 punch with Tim Stutzle.
6th Overall - Anaheim Ducks
Pick: Jake Sanderson (LD)
With rumors of Cam Fowler being shopped around by the Ducks, along with the contract situation of Hampus Lindholm, I believe the Ducks will look to upgrade their defensive core with the 6th overall pick. Having selected Trevor Zegras last year, and young players like Sam Steel already on the roster, the Ducks' centre situation seems well looked-after. Sanderson would be a very nice fit for a Ducks team that is transitioning from the days of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. He could very well become a #1 defender in the NHL, and I don't believe Bob Murray would pass up that chance given their centre and goaltending situation.
7th Overall - New Jersey Devils
Pick: Lucas Raymond (LW)
With Drysdale and Sanderson off the board, I imagine the Devils will look to add to their forward depth, and Lucas Raymond could be an excellent player to play alongside Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes.
8th Overall - Buffalo Sabres
Pick: Alexander Holtz (RW)
I believe that Buffalo would reach to draft a winger to help the Sabres scoring issue. With young centres like Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt, Holtz seems like the more logical choice given their lack of scoring depth on the wings. He will likely need a year in Sweden of the AHL before he is ready for a full-time role in the NHL, but Buffalo could have an excellent scorer to pair alongside Jack Eichel or Dylan Cozens.
9th Overall - Minnesota Wild
Pick: Marco Rossi (C)
One of those players that may fall due to positional needs by higher-picking teams, the Wild would be ecstatic to acquire a player like Rossi. With the departures of Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu, the Wild have a massive hole at centre that cannot be filled with their current prospects, in my opinion. Rossi's excellent play in the OHL this season had many scouts considering him as a top-5 pick, so for the Wild to draft him at 9th overall would be a dream come true for Wild fans.
10th Overall - Winnipeg Jets
Pick: Anton Lundell (C)
The Jets have a sizeable hole at both the centre and defensive position, so drafting Lundell makes the most logical sense for the team. He would make an excellent second-liner for Mark Scheifele in a couple years, though I would not be surprised if Winnipeg were to trade this pick to acquire help for the immediate future.
11th Overall - Nashville Predators
Pick: Seth Jarvis (C)
Nashville is starting to see that over-paying for free-agents is not an effective way to fill out their centre position. With Duchene, Johansen, Turris and Bonino all reportedly on the trade block, I would not be surprised if the team looked to draft a centre to re-tool their team. Jarvis is the best centre available at 11th overall, and it would be the logical pick in my opinion. They may choose to draft Askarov to shore up their goal-tending position, though I believe Juuse Saros can fill into a starting role without too much difficulty.
12th Overall - Florida Panthers
Pick: Braden Schneider (RD)
Florida needs to protect their largest investments, like Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Sergei Bobrovsky. Adding a player like Braden Schneider would give the Panthers a solid two-way defender who can play physically. This would take some of the workload off of the Ekblad and Yandle and hopefully help keep high-danger chances away from Bobrovsky. This would certainly be a reach at 12th overall, but I would argue that the players available would not fill a role that is as crucial to the Panthers today.
13th Overall - Carolina Hurricanes
Pick: Yaroslav Askarov (G)
The Hurricanes have been linked to pending-UFAs like Braden Holtby and Jacob Markstrom recently, but I believe that the chance to draft an elite-level goaltender is too good to pass up for Don Waddell and the Hurricanes organization. Players like Jack Quinn and Dawson Mercer are still at least one year from being impact-forwards, meaning that the draft is likely not the ideal place to help the forward core. Askarov could solve the issue between the pipes for Carolina, though it will likely be a couple years before Askarov is ready to become a starting goalie.
14th Overall - Edmonton Oilers
Pick: Jack Quinn (RW)
While the transition to the wing has been successful for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers are still in desperate need of scoring help on the wing, and Jack Quinn would be an excellent choice to fill that need. He is easily the best goal-scorer in the draft, and could be an incredible wing-man for either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
15th Overall - Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh)
Pick: Rodion Amirov (LW)
It's fair to say that Toronto would like to acquire a right-shot defenseman at 15th overall, but reaching for Justin Barron doesn't seem like the best idea, and Rodion Amirov makes the most sense among players available. He is an excellent skater, which would fit with the Maple Leafs identity, but his standout attribute is his solid defensive play. Having a player as responsible as Amirov is key when a team's defensive core isn't particularly strong in their own end.
16th Overall - Montreal Canadiens
Pick: Dawson Mercer (RW)
Montreal seems to have kicked the old habit of drafting Quebec-born players over the best available. Mercer would be a wise acquisition for the Canadiens, and he would be an excellent winger for a player like Nick Suzuki or Jesperi Kotkaniemi. With Cole Caufield and Dawson Mercer as the team's top-2 right-wingers, the Canadiens could have finally remedied their scoring issue which has plagued them for years.
17th Overall - Chicago Blackhakws
Pick: Kaiden Guhle (LD)
Chicago has made some solid moves in acquiring young forwards over the past couple years. Players like Alex Debrincat, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach and Alex Nylander give fans some hope for the team's future, but the blue-line is still aging. Choosing Adam Boqvist is certainly beneficial, but more help is needed, this is where Guhle would really shine. He is not projected to be the face of a defense by any stretch, but he would be a welcome addition to a team that desperately needs some youth and speed on the back-end.
18th Overall - New Jersey Devils (via Arizona)
Pick: Dylan Holloway (C)
Drafting Holloway certainly doesn't fill a positional need for the Devils, but I imagine that the team would simply draft the best player available. Holloway is a solid two-way player, but doesn't project to be more than a second-line power forward.
19th Overall - Calgary Flames
Pick: Connor Zary (C)
I could easily see the Flames take a shot on Hendrix Lapierre, but I think Zary seems like the safer bet. His skating isn't as solid as some of the other prospects on this list, but his puck skills and shooting are some of the best in the entire draft. It would take some time for Zary to be ready for an NHL role, but he does seem like the best option for the team.
20th Overall - New Jersey Devils (via Vancouver)
Pick: Hendrix Lapierre (C)
A neck injury (previously thought to be a concussion) had kept Lapierre out of the majority of the 2019-20 season, scaring off pro scouts in the process. However, Lapierre is still an excellent prospect, and a worthy gamble for the Devils at 20th overall.
21st Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets
Pick: Jacob Perrault (RW)
Rumors have swirled that the Blue Jackets have been looking to acquire Patrik Laine over the past few weeks, but I think a player like Jacob Perrault would serve their needs nicely. He still needs some time before he is NHL-ready, but he could be an excellent goal scorer once he has reached his full potential.
22nd Overall - New York Rangers (via Carolina)
Pick: Lukas Reichel (LW)
Reichel seems like very good two-way forward for the Rangers at 22nd overall. The team has a lot of offensive firepower, but could really use some more responsible players to help Igor Shesterkin from getting overwhelmed.
23rd Overall - Philadelphia Flyers
Pick: John-Jason Peterka (LW)
With a defensive core and centre depth better than most in the league, I believe the Flyers might look to add a winger to help with their scoring. Peterka is a very skilled player, and his size isn't too worrisome given the size and strength of the teammates around him.
24th Overall - Washington Capitals
Pick: William Wallinder (LD)
Wallinder is one of the most interesting defensive prospects coming into the draft. His size and offensive skill are excellent tools to have, but his defensive skills leave much to be desired.
25th Overall - Colorado Avalanche
Pick: Brendan Brisson (C)
After drafting Byram and Makar over the past three years, along with the trade for Samuel Girard, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Avs draft a forward at 25th overall. Brisson has a ton of raw skill that would certainly be helped by having one of the best players in the NHL to learn from.
26th Overall - St Louis Blues
Pick: Justin Barron (RD)
With the possible departure of Alex Pietrangelo, the Blues may look to Barron to help improve their defense for the future. This is a smart, two-way centre that has the size to play in the Western Conference, though he is not very well known for his physicality.
27th Overall - Anaheim Ducks (via Boston)
Pick: Mavrik Bourque (C)
His skating ability has been questioned by many scouts and analysts, but I believe the Ducks will look at the raw skills of Mavrik Bourque, and take a gamble on him late in the first round. Their centre depth is pretty well stocked with players like Zegras and Steel, but I believe this is a worthwhile gamble for the Ducks to take.
28th Overall - Ottawa Senators (via New York Islanders)
Pick: Ryan O'Rourke (LD)
I believe around this point in the draft, teams will stop taking positional needs into consideration and will instead opt for the best player available. O'Rourke would be an good physical defender for the Senators, and a nice complementary piece on the left side to the more offensively-talented Chabot and Brannstrom.
29th Overall - Vegas Golden Knights
Pick: Marat Khusnutdinov (C)
Khusnutdinov is a very good two-way centre. He's a very smart player with good skating. He is only 5'9", which is worrisome to many, but I feel like his defensive capabilities are worth a shot.
30th Overall - Dallas Stars
Pick: Noel Gunler (LW)
These playoffs showed that Dallas needs to find offence from other sources than Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alex Radulov. They got some scoring from secondary sources like Kiviranta and Gurianov, but Dallas would welcome a player like Gunler due to his excellent scoring abilities.
31st Overall - San Jose Sharks (via Tampa Bay)
Pick: Jake Neighbors (LW)
Don't let his height fool you, Neighbors is a brick wall. His physicality and defensive skills are attractive enough to begin with. He is also a solid playmaker, and could be a steal for the Sharks at 31st overall.
: Devin Manky/Icon Sportswire
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